To the Warriors                                         

  Say goodbye
   to those whom
    you've never
  Even said hello -

  Those men and women
   clad in camouflage colors
    who mingle in your town
  May soon be gone

  Another wicked
   game is played
    with those who've
  Given their word to protect

  Fathers, Mothers
   Sisters, Brothers
    Friends, and Lovers
  Sons and Daughters...

  Called by a duty
   many cannot begin
    to understand.
  Freedom's bell tolls

  Yet doesn't ring
   with the sweet clarity
    that all Nations
  Long to hear...

  A dirge, begun
   sorrow again unfolds
    as these warriors
  fulfill their destinies:

  Futures denied
   for the sakes of
    societies in jeaopardy
  Far displaced from

  Our own country
   and families -
    foreign, suffering
  What we've long forgotten

  Generations
   passed, and past
    such heinous state
  We live.

  Say hello, to each
   soldier you may pass
    You do not know
  when he or she might

  Remember your kind smile
   just a word or two
    before that light fades
  For the good of another...


                              
�   K.E.Cline, 12/1995
{published in The Fayetteville
  Observer-Times, "Saturday Extra,"
  1/20/96}
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